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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: jam · bat · snap · row · deal · press · chest · perch

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. press — a publisher
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. press — to push
  7. row — a line
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. snap — to click
  11. row — to paddle
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. press — newspapers
  15. deal — to handle
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. chest — of your body
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com